DMD Weekly FinTech Trend Report
April 22, 2025
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📰LEAD STORY
States Step In as Federal Crypto Enforcement Wavers: Oregon AG Sues Coinbase in Sweeping Action
By Prof. Tonya M. Evans
As federal regulators pull back under the current administration, state attorneys general are stepping up to fill the enforcement gap in the cryptocurrency space. This week, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a major lawsuit against Coinbase, one of the largest digital asset exchanges in the U.S., accusing the platform of violating Oregon Securities Law by facilitating the sale of unregistered securities to everyday investors.
Rayfield’s lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges that Coinbase encouraged and profited from the trading of high-risk digital assets without properly vetting them. “After building trust with Oregon consumers, Coinbase sold high-risk investments without them being properly vetted to protect consumers,” Rayfield stated. “Oregonians lost money, and we believe Coinbase should be held accountable and take steps to protect consumers.”
According to the complaint, Coinbase’s role goes far beyond that of a neutral trading platform. It actively approves tokens for listing, promotes them to users, manages customer funds, and facilitates trades. In doing so, the state argues, Coinbase enabled a marketplace for unregistered securities—some of which, like Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), experienced catastrophic losses. ICP, for instance, fell from $700 to $72 in just one month after listing on Coinbase and now trades near $7, representing a 99% drop in value and billions in investor losses.
The lawsuit comes at a moment of reduced federal scrutiny. The SEC recently dropped a key enforcement action against Coinbase and reassigned the attorney leading that case to its IT department—moves that have raised eyebrows. Attorney General Rayfield criticized the retreat, saying, “States must fill the enforcement vacuum being left by federal regulators who are giving up under the new administration and abandoning these important cases.”
Legal observers have taken note of the Oregon case’s sweeping scope. Justin Slaughter, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Paradigm and former Senior Adviser at the SEC and Chief Policy Adviser at the CFTC, noted that the Oregon AG’s lawsuit is notably broader than previous federal actions—alleging 31 tokens as unregistered securities, including high-profile assets like UNI, AAVE, FLOW, LINK, MKR, and even XRP—calling it “a true kitchen sink lawsuit.”
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal responded swiftly, criticizing the complaint’s tone and motivations. “If there were any doubt about the motivation behind it, look no further than section 9,” he posted, pointing out the omission of important federal court rulings and highlighting the involvement of private law firms in the case. He added that the complaint paints SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as a “crypto lobbyist” and decries internal SEC personnel moves—suggesting that the lawsuit is as much political theater as legal action.
As the regulatory landscape for crypto continues to evolve, the Oregon lawsuit may signal a new phase where states play a more prominent role in policing digital asset markets. Whether this approach will succeed in protecting investors or stifle innovation remains to be seen.
NEWS & TRENDS DIGEST
⭐BitBonds: A New Take On Treasury Bonds To Tackle The U.S. Debt Crisis (Prof. Evans-Forbes)
Paul S. Atkins Sworn In as SEC Chairman (SEC.gov)
Alarming Fed news sends Bitcoin reeling close to $88K (TheStreet.com)
FDIC says banks can engage in crypto activities without prior approval (Reuters)
U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment (ProPublica)
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